The present invention relates to a child restraint apparatus, and particularly to a child restraint apparatus for a child seat. More particularly, the present invention relates to a child restraint apparatus that lies between the child and a front edge of the child seat in a position opposing the seat backrest to prevent the child from inadvertently sliding off of the front edge of the child seat.
Child restraint systems are widely accepted as useful for helping young children to remain seated in child seats. Child seats having restraint systems are well known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,326,327 to Stephens et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,115,523 and 4,998,307 to Cone, U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,004 to Cone et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,683 to Knoedler et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,613 to Martel et al. all disclose child seats having restraint systems.
What is needed is a child seat having a seat bottom and a child restraint apparatus that swings easily from an upright child-restraining position above the seat bottom to an unobtrusive down-out-of-the-way position below the seat bottom. Ideally, such a child restraint apparatus would be easy to make and install in a wide variety of child seats.
According to the present invention, a child seat having a child restraint apparatus is provided. The child seat includes a shell having a seat bottom with a front edge, a back edge, and a seat back extending upwardly from the back edge of the seat bottom. The child seat further includes a rotatable restraint bar that is usable to restrain a child seated in the shell. The restraint bar includes a post having a base and a tip. The base of the post is mounted for rotation to the shell and arranged so that the tip swings easily along an arc between a down-out-of-the-way position below the seat bottom and a child-restraining position above the seat bottom.
Illustratively, a rotatable restraint bar in accordance with the present invention is mounted to lie adjacent to a seat bottom included in a high chair. It is within the scope of the present invention to include such a rotatable restraint bar in a wide variety of child-supporting units such as car seats, child swings, car beds, child carriers, strollers, and other types of child seats.
In preferred embodiments, a foot rest having a convex exterior surface is appended to a lower portion of the shell and arranged to extend below the front edge of the seat bottom. Illustratively, the restraint bar is T-shaped and includes a transverse cross member appended to the tip of the rotatable post. The transverse cross member is configured to provide additional restraint when the restraint bar is in the child-restraining position. Preferably, the transverse cross member is curved about its longitudinal axis to define an elongated foot rest-engaging channel and the foot rest nests in the channel when the post is in the down-out-of-the-way position below the seat bottom.
Ideally, the T-shaped restraint bar is rotatably mounted to a center portion of the front edge of the seat bottom in spaced-apart relation to each of the seat arm side walls included in the shell. When rotated to its upright child-restraining position, the T-shaped restraint bar passes easily between the legs of a child seated on the seat bottom in the shell. Upon arrival at its upright child-restraining position, the post of the T-shaped restraint bar will lie near the crotch of the seated child and the transverse cross member appended to the tip of the post will lie near the abdomen of the seated child. Conveniently, the T-shaped restraint bar does not obstruct removal of a child from the child seat by a care giver after the T-shaped restraint bar has been rotated to its down-out-of-the-way position engaging the foot rest underlying the seat bottom.
A locking mechanism is provided for locking the restraint bar in its upright child-restraining position so that the restraint bar is fixed to the shell to provide a rigid child-restraining safety shield at the front edge of the seat bottom. The locking mechanism is mounted inside the post. Illustratively, the locking mechanism is spring-loaded and is arranged to lock the restraint bar to the shell automatically as soon as the restraint bar is swung upwardly by a care giver to reach the upright child-restraining position.
A lock-release button is mounted on a convenient place on the post so that it can be operated easily by a care giver with one hand. The lock-release button is linked to the locking mechanism mounted in the post. When activated by a care giver, the button moves to actuate the spring-loaded locking mechanism to release the T-shaped restraint bar from its locked connection to the shell to allow the T-shaped restraint bar to swing easily into the down-out-of-the-way position lying below the seat bottom and engaging the foot rest.
To restrain a child in the child seat, a care-giver simply seats the child in the shell on the seat bottom and swings the restraint bar from a down-out-of-the-way position below the child seat to a child-restraining position above the seat bottom in front and between the legs of the child. Once the restraint bar reaches the child-restraining position, the restraint bar is automatically locked into place by a spring-loaded locking mechanism and will swing no further in either direction.
Releasing the child requires only that the care giver press the release button deactivating the spring-loaded locking mechanism and unlocking the post from the shell. The care giver then simply swings the rotatable post from the child-restraining position above the seat bottom to the down-out-of-the-way position below the seat bottom, thereby gaining free and unrestricted access to the child seated in the shell. The transverse cross member of the restraint bar rests against the foot rest when the restraint bar is in the down-out-of-the-way position. The foot rest fits in the elongated foot-rest receiving channel to prevent unwanted movement of the restraint bar when seating or removing the child from the child seat.
When the child restraint apparatus of the present invention is in the down-out-of-the-way position, it provides the same degree of unrestricted access to the child seat that would be available if there were no restraint apparatus at all. The transverse cross member provides an additional restriction when the child is restrained in the child seat, and when the T-shaped restraint bar is in the down-out-of-the-way position the transverse cross member lies essentially flush with the portion of the shell forming the foot rest, maximizing the ease of accessing the seat.
Advantageously, the child restraint includes a restraint bar that swings easily relative to a seat bottom in a shell between a down-out-of-the-way position and a child-restraining position. The post is retained in its upright child-restraining position by means of a spring-loaded locking mechanism coupling the post to the shell. The restraint bar includes a convenient release button that is easy to operate with one hand to control unlocking of the spring-loaded locking mechanism and a cross member on the post that rests against a foot rest attached to the child seat when the restraint bar is in its down-out-of-the-way position. This child-restraint apparatus is well-suited for use in high chairs and other infant, child, or youth seats such as strollers, infant carriers, car seats, car beds, child swings, and the like.
Additional objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.